Making baby food questions???

Medic - posted on 05/05/2010

Awesome I would have never thought to mix any of those either but now I am curious and might try it myself.

Erin - posted on 05/05/2010

Thats Great! Hope it all goes well. Also check out at the "Foods good to mix with.." at the bottom of the page. For example I would've never thought to mix avacado with apple sauce, peaches, or pears but its accually really good lol! Have fun :D

Medic - posted on 05/04/2010

Thank you Erin that site is awesome. I went to the local farmers market this past weekend and got a whole bunch of different fresh foods grown without chemicals. I am actually so excited.

Erin - posted on 05/04/2010

This is the BEST site for making baby food. It has all the info you'll need. from how to prepare, store, freeze, reheat.
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/peasbab...
It's very true, you can save a tonn of money making it yourself. I would spend one after noon and prepare 3 months worth of food and freeze it. Fruits and Veggies! Good Luck!!!

Susan - posted on 05/03/2010

sorry should be add fruit

Susan - posted on 05/03/2010

well best thing join library ,they normaly have a great selection of recipe books for weaning babies. yes sweetpotatoe easy try adding carrot with it also potatoe and leek cauliflour and broccoli bake .for fruit get a normal apple not cooking apple wrapp in foil decorked where cork wasand mixed fruit cook in oven at 180c for about 30 to 40 mins depending if oven fan assisted when cooked liquid down with a little ricepuddind when cool put in icecube tray and freeze then just take a few ice cubes out at a time and defrost a nd reheat cheaper than babyfood and good luck.

Medic - posted on 04/30/2010

Ok I know how to start out but I just need advise on how to make the foods....I know how to add them but thank you to those that answered my questions and to those that didn't thanks for the effort. And I know the recomendations but apparently some of you didn't see that we are doing this along side of the dr to help with GERD.

And she is already on cereal..both to thicken her liquid and with meals.



Also 3 is not toddler and he does not need his foods cut up and saved....he eats regular foods.

Jemma - posted on 04/30/2010

If she's just starting out you can keep it simple. Give her one new fruit/veggie every few days then after say 3 or 4 start to combine them. for example - steam 2 carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato - freeze separately in ice cube trays - that's a few different tastes. Add baby cereal and small amount of baby's milk to get consistency right. Other easy meals at this stage are mashed banana or avocado (taste pretty good combined too) - these are both nutritious, easy and transportable fresh. Steaming is best - steam anything needs to be cooked in order to puree eg apple, pear. You can be quite adventurous in your combinations even mixing fruit with veggies - take it slowly though - most drs don't recommend solids before 6 months.

Bethany - posted on 04/30/2010

Until she's 6 mths, only formula or breastmilk is sufficient, and I found with Charlotte that the extra demand and need at 4 mths was actually for me to step up my milk feeds, not for solids. I started her on baby rice cereal at 4 mths and she put no weight on at all from 4 to 5 mths. Then I cut out the solids and stepped up the milk at 5 mths and she put on enough for the 2 mths!.



So once she did start solids at 6 mths, it was baby rice cereal and breastmilk (or formula made up) after each milk feed, kind of in line with normal meal times.



Then steamed sweet potato, potato, carrot, peas, mashed up. I have one of those mix-sticks that you hold and it blends the food really fine, and I would use that. I have a couple of big ice cube trays and I would put the meat and vege puree into these and freeze it and then empty them into zip-lock baggies and write on them the date and contents. One batch would do a couple of weeks. I still use them now, only not so pureed for when Charlotte is teething and can't chew without pain.



Hit up the web for the order of things as it changes all the time, and it's best to be well informed.



It's never too soon to introduce soft finger foods, to train their gag reflex, and teach them to hold and identify their food and put it in their own mouths. You can google BLW for that stuff.



If you don't want to wook separate stuff for your toddler and your baby, just keep the steamed veges and your poached (simmered in liquid) meat aside in pieces for your toddler, in separate baggies, and puree the rest for baby.



Like, you can cut up chicken meat and toss it in egg and then in breadcrumbs and freeze a bunch of them on a biscuit tray then put them in a baggie to cook later, and steam a bunch of veges cut into pieces to keep in freezer baggies for your toddler, and use the rest of the chicken and veges in a chicken and vege puree and freeze in ice cube trays for the baby. Then it's like a little food library in your freezer and you just grab it out when you need it.



Fresh things like avocado, pear, soft cheese are important too, but for when you need to not cook, pre frozen stuff is great.



I find Charlotte eats meat more readily if it's poached, and you can use milk, or coconut milk adds a nice taste. Steaming is also good as fewer nutrients are lost.



There is so much you can do, hit up the internet for all it's got, it's a huge resource.

Sherry - posted on 04/30/2010

oh be careful not to overcook your veggies.. personally I just blanch mine (boil for about 3 minutes) they still have a crunch to them but add a little bit of the water it bioled in when you puree them in the blender... so the nutrients don't leach out into all the rest ... if you have baby food jars this is perfect cuz once you bottle them and put the jars in a bioling water bath with the lids on for 5 minutes it acts as a sealant pushing the air out then sucking the lid down as it cools.. and still cooks those veggies a bit but keeps the nutrients inside

Sherry - posted on 04/30/2010

Hey Jennifer, how's it going.... here's some quick easy tips for babyfood (I actually bought a babyfood cookbook go figure)

Fruits for the most part are easy...
Pears, bananas, strawberries, kiwi and any fruit that isn't hard can be throwin in a blender.. don't add any sugar, but puree.. maybe MAYBE add some water

Harder fruits like apples throw in peal, throw in a pot with a little water, and cook until it looks like goo or is very very soft.. then throw it in the blender

If your dr has given the OK for mashed potatoes and meats remember NO SALT when cooking... cook it like you would otherwise (standard 2lb chicken is cooked at 350 degrees for 20minutes a lb-- or if your baking it in the oven leave a piece or two unseasoned for baby-- chicken legs or pieces generally take about 45 min - 1hr) throw it in the blender with a little water or low sodium chicken stock (same principle with beef)

To start out though.. cream of wheat after she/he's had all the step 1 baby cereals is an easy bet... but rice cereal is best to start it's only about 2-3 dollars a box and it will take her a while to get through them initially.. my son is 5 months old and he's on his 4th box of cereal and we started him when he was about 3 months.

any food you make for the family as long as it's one food a week is generally good for baby. Just remember to watch the salt on baby's portion or leave a portion without the salt or sugars... single grain cereals are perfect... then freeze em up in ice cube trays.. that's about the portioning size she'll eat (or 1/2 of it) for the first while.

Hope that helped.

Kellie - posted on 04/30/2010

I make all my sons food unless we are out and I forgot to pack a container. My son started on apple puree and rice cereal (farex), Just peel and chop apples roughly and put into saucepan with a dribble of water I put mine on medium with the lid on and just stir every few mins, you will know when its done cause it will just smoosh when you stir. Then just blend or push through a sieve. You can do this with most harder fruit.



For vegies just steam over water or boil in a small amount of water and drain and blend when soft. When ready to add meat the easiest is mince just dry fry and add to some boiled potato, pumpkin and carrot and blend. you can get most meats as a mince and you can gut sausages as well and for veriety add some over cooked pasta or rice to the blender.



Winter stew recipes are great for baby food just leave out onion, garlic and strong seasoning for the littlies and these blend wonderfully because they are soft.

Hope this helps a bit.

Renea - posted on 04/29/2010

When i started making baby food all i did was take parts of the meal we were having, like the veggies, and just blend a few of them when they were raw in the blender and serve them up, same with the fruit..We didn't go out a whole lot when our little guy was younger so I never needed to make ahead a meal or anything so I didn't have to freeze anything. I always thought fruit was easiest if you get somethinga little bit softer and just blend it. My other suggestion, what I did for my toddler meal ideas is I went to the library and looked in the cookbook section and photocopied a bunch of recipes I thought were easy.

Pela - posted on 04/29/2010

boiling is not a good idea because the majority of the precious nutrients you want your baby to have gets lost in the water...you want to steam them until they are tender and then puree them. an easy way is by getting the beaba babyfood maker. if it is too much $$ then do it the old fashioned way with the pot and blender:) GL!

Sara - posted on 04/29/2010

I make everything my almost 10 month eats b/c she has tummy problems.
All I do is boil it, meat included, and than puree or mash it. Depending on the consistency she can handle. Somethings, like bananas and avocado, don't have to be boiled. All the boiling does is make it soft enough to puree, so if it's already soft you're one step ahead. :)
I make a large batch and than freeze it. I've frozen everything that I've made for her. Fruits, veggies, meat, even rice and coconut. I recommend freezing it in small portions, it just makes getting a meal together easier. I got a set of ice trays and put a tablespoon of food in each. It's the equivalent to 1/2 oz, So than all you have to do is grab however many ice cubes you need to make a meal and warm them in the microwave. Plus that way, you can keep a variety of things and mix and match what you give each meal.
I hope this helps!

Medic - posted on 04/29/2010

What can I not freeze???

Brittnii - posted on 04/29/2010

http://www.simplybabyfoodrecipes.net/sea...


there ya go hun those are a lot of recipes for 4-6 month olds and theres a lot more for older babies too :) have fun ♥